Despite years of intensive investigation, the prognosis for most patients with primary anaplastic central nervous system (CNS) tumors remains poor. Median survival for adults with the most common form of CNS tumor, the glioblastoma multiforme, is 8-12 months. The outlook is somewhat better for less common tumors such as anaplastic astrocytoma and medulloblastoma, but most primary anaplastic CNS tumors are highly resistant to currently available therapy.
Only radiotherapy has been shown to prolong survival in patients with anaplastic gliomas. Following conventional therapy with surgery and external beam radiotherapy, malignant gliomas tend to recur at or near the original tumor site. Temporarily implanted radioactive iodine sources (interstitial brachytherapy) have recently been used to deliver high dose focal radiotherapy to locally recurrent malignant gliomas.
The possibility of utilizing therapeutic antibodies in the treatment of cancer is beginning to be investigated. R. Moseley et al., Br. J. Cancer 62, 637 (1990) describe the intrathecal administration of .sup.131 I radiolabelled monoclonal antibody for the treatment of neoplastic meningitis. The treatment of a patient afflicted with melanoma with Mel-14 is described (see also L. Lashford, Cancer 61, 857 (1988)). Nevertheless, satisfactory treatments are not yet available, and there is a continued need for new treatments for these diseases.